Echo

76 oak grove- club 76
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Two guys independent of each other and about 30 seconds apart made jokes about putting roofies in my drink
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Did he make the wrong decision for himself? Did he make the right decision for the bigger picture? Is it possible he did both? If so, is it a conscious or unconscious sacrifice?
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I go to Santana Rd and run into my cousin who’s a fixture there. He’s got some dumb girl grinding up on him, and giant Norman and I creep up with our ears to listen to their conversation. We’re fucking with her because we don’t care about her, but she takes it because she thinks her life is gonna change if she fucks my cousin.

I run into this girl Ashley. I’ve known her since she was a toddler. Her dad, Whiskey, started coming out to play basketball at the open gym with the girls I play with, and the dude’s intense, barreling into girls and yelling at them when they make mistakes. It’s kind of funny but sad. I heard he and his wife got separated. He must have cheated, I immediately said and got yelled to not make assumptions. But the dude’s name is Whiskey. If the family broke up, I would put money down he did something. So I haven’t seen Ash in years, but now she’s a girl-woman, all perky and fierce and independent and broken. You’ve probably heard some things about my parents, she said. Lots of rumors out there. I tell her I heard something but didn’t really pay attention. And that I play basketball with her old man.

I bet he doesn’t even recognize you, she said. Does he? He wouldn’t.

I tell her that he must know who I am. I’m pretty sure someone’s told him my name.

He doesn’t recognize you, she said. It’s your massive presence now. He doesn’t know who you are.”

I tell her I remember her as a kid. How confident she was. You just did whatever you wanted, I said.

Just like someone else we know, she said.

Who?

You, she said. You always did whatever you wanted. We’re a lot a like.

She proceeded to dance seductively for some boys, and I left to give her space. She’s a strong girl. She’s a storm, the kind of girl who can put a boy in jail, but smart enough to corral that power if she can stay away from the big mistakes that spell endgame.

They wanted to hit the next bar while Ditty by Paperboy was playing. I wanted to dance but some guy grabbed me and I didn’t like it, so I left. Next place was filled with hapless white guys and hookers. So I headed for Hotel Valencia in search of a couch to lounge on.

The couches looked empty when I first walked in which made me ecstatic, but a few steps later as I rounded the corner, I saw there were two guys sitting there. They smiled when they saw me. I decided to suck it up and deal with the situation, since I wanted to sit on the couch. Ordered an Effen Cherry Vodka and soda. Went over and sat down next to them. They seemed pretty shocked but happy. Learned that one, Marcel, is a French-Italian transplant turned firefighter, and Michael is a Scottish software engineer and photography artist. Had a great time talking to them. They both have girlfriends so once that was out of the way, we just talked like three happy people. They asked me if I was a cop, because of my  build and my air of authority and confidence. I told them that’s funny because usually it’s Canadians who think I’m a cop. They like that I break the mold of someone working in tech. I like that they’re friendly and we’re having a no bullshit good time. I tell them that I just moved to the area and had just started exploring.

They recommend Los Gatos and plan out a Sat night itinerary for me. Tell me I have to hit #1 Broadway last, as it’s all cougars and young guys, and their mating rituals need to be witnessed.

Sat night itinerary

Wine Cellar
CB hannigans
Black watch
Los Gatos bar and grill
#1 broadway
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